Half Dome
by spiderfire
Summary: Steve, Bucky, Clint and Sam go on a camping trip. Steve and Bucky get up early one day and take a hike. Written as a NPT treat.


It was early morning and the pre-dawn light filtered green through the thin nylon skin of the tent. Steve rolled over in his sleeping bag and saw Bucky's eyes were open, watching him. "Morning," he said softly.

"Morning."

Steve looked over Bucky to where Sam and Clint were still sound asleep. Last night, they had sat round the campfire, sharing a couple cases of beer, telling increasingly improbable stories of the one that got away, be it fish, girls or aborted missions.

"They are going to be sleeping for a while," Steve said softly.

"Yeah."

"You hung over?"

"Naw," Bucky said. "You?"

Steve chuckled softly. "Not since 1943. Wanna go for a hike?"

Bucky shrugged. "Sure."

As quietly as they could, they wiggled into clothes and picked up their shoes. Bucky unzipped the tent and they stepped out into the pine forest of the Yosemite Valley campground. This was not a secluded site. Steve could probably count 30 tents without moving.

Bucky dropped a water bottle and a handful of protein bars in a daypack. "Where shall we go?" he asked.

With a grin, Steve pointed at the sheer granite face that towered over their campsite.

Bucky looked at it skeptically. "Tell me there is a trail."

"What? Are you afraid of a little rock climbing?"

Bucky just looked at him.

"Fine. Yes, there is a trail," Steve said clapping Bucky on the shoulder. "This way."

They set off down the trail, Steve setting a pace that got his heart going and Bucky kept stride, staying just a few steps behind him. This early in the morning, they had the trail to themselves.

The trail clung to the side of the Yosemite river and was really more of a staircase than a trail. The river was pouring down a waterfall to their right. Countless steps had been made by setting squared off granite rocks in place along the side of the river. They took the steps two at a time, the sound of the river roaring in their ears and the spray of the water keeping them cool. The trail came to the top of the first waterfall, and then continued to a second. They paused at the top of the second to drink water and eat a protein bar. This vantage point gave them a tremendous view of the valley and some distant peaks high overhead, which were just being touched by the rising sun.

"You okay?" Steve asked Bucky as they ate.

Bucky nodded. "You?"

"I'm doing great. The pace okay?"

"Yes."

"Well, let's keep going!"

The trail left the river and took them through pine forest. As they hiked, they climbed into the morning sun and suddenly it was much warmer. They passed a few hikers now and then who looked at them strangely as they passed by. At first, since they were both wearing t-shirts and shorts, Steve thought it was Bucky's arm they were looking at, but then he realized that was not it. It was their pace.

They trail came out of the forest and there were more steps. Again, they charged up them, two at a time. At one point, Bucky actually laughed when Steve challenged him to race up a section, and they made it to the top, tied. They stood there, panting for breath, taking in a panorama of distant granite peaks, worn smooth by ancient glaciers.

"City boy like you, I never took you for a hiking sort." Bucky said.

Steve shrugged. "Must have been all that time in the Alps hunting Zola. Rubbed off on me. And, you're just as much of a city boy as I am."

Bucky looked over the terrain they just covered. "I like this. At the pace we are going, it is fast enough it keeps my mind busy with where I am going to put my feet, so I don't have to think about anything else." After a moment he paused and added, "Some of my missions were like this. The initial plan got blown out of the water as soon as I engaged and it was all improvising from there. Those were the best ones, really."

Steve watched Bucky. It was rare that he opened up like that and he did not want to interrupt.

But Bucky did not continue. He looked up the trail and Steve followed his gaze. The stairs ended and they were out on open granite ridge that was weathered and had a fine layer of sand covering the smooth rock. Ahead, the trail turned steep, climbing at perhaps a forty degree angle and there were cable handrails to help people ascend. Maybe a hundred feet above them, they could see two tiny people, toiling up the cables.

"Let's go," Bucky said. "See if we can beat those two to the top."

"Sure!"

Ten minutes later, they stood on the top of the world, having beaten the other two hikers handily. They stood on top of the smooth granite dome, and everywhere around them was down. There were other granite domes they could see in the distance, the two waterfalls they had hiked up were tiny below them, and walking over to the mile high sheer cliff that towered over their campsite, they looked down and tried to pick out the tent where Sam and Clint were probably still asleep. Although they stood in full sun, the sun had not yet risen in the valley.

"Wow," Steve said.

"Yeah," Bucky replied.

They sat on a ledge that jutted out over a mile of air and Bucky handed Steve another protein bar. Steve made a face at it as he ripped the package open. "For every wonder the future brings, there is one of these," he commented as he gestured with bar.

Bucky looked at him as he chewed a bite.

"These things are vile. Barely edible even if you are hungry."

"They are alright," Bucky replied. "Beats the crap out of C-rations."

"At least those came with a Hershey bar," Steve said.

"These are peanut butter," Bucky replied. His eyes grew distant as he looked over the valley.

"What?" Steve asked.

Bucky shrugged. "I missed peanut butter."

"Oh," Steve replied.

They sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts. There were about a dozen people scattered around the summit with them. Even though they were sitting in the sun, there was a steady wind. The other hikers all had jackets on, while they sat there in t-shirts and running shorts. "I am getting cold," Bucky commented. "Shall we go down?"

"Sure. Race you?"

Bucky grinned. "You wouldn't dare."

By way of answer, Steve grabbed the pack that Bucky had carried up and slung it on his back as he headed back for the cables at a run.

As they went down, the trails became increasingly crowded and they had to slow their headlong pace to avoid collisions with hikers toiling up the trail they were coming down. Occasionally, Steve would catch one of the hikers they passed saying, "Watch out!" or "Slow down!" or in one case, "Guess he has to go to the bathroom!"

Bucky matched his pace – sometimes pulling ahead – usually by cutting off the switch backs and cheating – and other times he pulled ahead. Once, Bucky slipped and, going as fast as he was, he tumbled into a roll and used his arm to come to a sliding stop. When he got up, he was surrounded by a crowd of gawkers. Steve gained a couple hundred yards before Bucky extricated himself, but two miles later it was Steve's turn. He paused to look at a trail sign, to make sure he was going in the right direction, when a kid recognized him. "Daddy," she said, "that's Captain America!" The girl's father looked up and his eyes widened. Suddenly, Steve found himself signing autographs on peoples' Yosemite guide books and maps, while Bucky raced past him.

When they pounded into camp, the sun had finally risen above the canyon walls and the tent was bathed in warm sun. Steve put on a final burst of speed and tagged the tent as he ran by. Bucky slowed from his dead run to a walk and tagged the tent five seconds later, before Steve had circled back. "I win," Bucky gasped out, as Steve came back into the campsite, his hand pressing into a stitch in his side.

"How," Steve panted in reply, "do you work that out? I was here first."

"You overshot. I was in the campsite first."

Steve rolled his eyes. "You wish."

From inside the tent, Sam said, "For the love of god, will you two be quiet?"

"Some of us are trying to sleep," Clint added.

"It's…" Steve looked at his wrist that had no watch on it. "Bucky, what time is it?"

"Time for these two lazy bones to get out of bed."

"Wait a minute," Sam said as he unzipped the tent door and looked out at them, squinting in the sunlight. "Ow. Where have the two of you been?"

"We went for a hike," Steve said.

Bucky pointed at the cliff face.

Sam followed his finger, his face growing increasingly incredulous. "You hiked Half Dome before breakfast?"

Steve shrugged. "It was a good warm up."

"Let it go, Sam," Clint said from inside the tent.

"But that hike is twenty miles sideways and a mile up! Took me twelve hours, last time I did it."

"Sam, let it go. They can cook us breakfast and we can talk to them about hiking etiquette later."

Sam flung himself back, out of the tent door, and pulled his pillow over his face. "Rogers, I want my bacon crispy."


End file.
